Legislative Oversight and the Budget

OPINION: Legislative Oversight and the Budget

26 Nov, 2012

OPINION: Legislative Oversight and the Budget – by Eze Onyekpere
The presidential system of government which we practice in Nigeria makes provision for separation of powers, apportioning disparate powers and duties to the executive, legislative and judicial arms of government. Essentially, the legislature makes laws which the executive is under obligation to implement. The judiciary is called upon in the determination of civil rights and obligations to interpret the laws. The presidential system of government understands that powers may be abused and therefore introduced a system of checks and balances among the three arms of government. Through the power of interpretation, the courts can declare laws made by the legislature unconstitutional and therefore null and void and of no effect whatsoever. The legislature on the other hand has the power of oversight over the execution and administration of laws by the executive. The executive holds the powers of investigation, coercion and implementation of laws and can as well use these powers to call the legislature and judiciary to account.  Thus, it is a system created tor the overall benefit of the citizens.
Since the return to civil rule in 1999 in Nigeria, the federal capital budgets have been very poorly implemented by the executive. Hardly has capital budget implementation risen above 50 per cent by the end of the fiscal year in December. When this fact is juxtaposed against the background that the recurrent part of the budget has been consuming about 70 per cent of the budget, then the implication is the fact that we have been dedicating about 15 per cent of the overall annual budget to capital expenditure. This has led to our poor social indicators, infrastructure deficit and massive unemployment and underdevelopment. What is the role of the legislature in all this? This is where the power of oversight invested in the National Assembly by Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution as amended should be utilised.
By Section 88 of the Constitution, the National Assembly is empowered to conduct investigations into any matter or thing with respect to which it has power to make laws. It also has power to conduct investigations into the conduct or affairs of any person, authority, ministry or government department charged, or intended to be charged with the duty or responsibility of executing or administering laws enacted by it and the disbursement or administration of funds appropriated or to be appropriated by the lawmakers. These powers are meant inter alia to correct defects in existing laws and for the enactment of new laws, expose corruption, inefficiency or waste in the system and waste in the administration or disbursement of moneys appropriated by the legislature. By Section 89, the National Assembly has powers to procure evidence needed for the investigation, require evidence to be given on oath, compel the attendance of witnesses on the pain of punishment if they fail to attend, etc.
The constitution did not grant these enormous powers to the parliament for the fun of it. These powers were granted in the public interest. Shortly before the lawmakers went on their 2012 recess, it became clear that the executive was playing games with the implementation of the capital budget. There were all kinds of spins about the capital budget implementation which had no correspondence with reality leading to threats of possible impeachment of the President. The National Assembly since then had indicated that its committees would embark upon, and have indeed embarked on, oversight visits to the respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government to determine their level of implementation of the capital budget. However, Nigerians have yet to be formally and fully briefed on what the legislators found at these visits and what the information available to them indicates. We only get snippets from the media on the state of implementation of certain MDAs. This is not good enough.
Oversight visits and investigations are not ends in themselves. They will be unproductive and wasteful of public resources if no follow-up remedial action is founded on them. Apparently, capital budget implementation has remained the way it has been since the visits. Not much has changed and it is still business as usual. At least, Nigerians who use the roads know that virtually all the major roads in the 2012 budget have not witnessed a face-lift. On this score, it is imperative that the National Assembly, in a comprehensive report, briefs Nigerians, the ultimate sovereigns, on their findings. The resources used for this oversight exercise belong to the public resources. Such a report is also expected to contain the way forward in terms of actions that are needed to get guarantees of non repetition; those that should face prosecution and or be relieved of their duty posts. We also expect public apologies from some of those guilty. It should answer the questions: Did the Ministry of Finance release funds as and when due? Did any MDA sit on released money for no obvious reason? Did contractors abandon their jobs after collecting public funds? Indeed, we need answers to the posers; who is responsible and who should bear the pain of scuttling the hopes and aspirations of the majority of Nigerians?
Nigerians do not want the National Assembly to throw its hand up in the air while stating that its resolutions and recommendations to the executive do not have the force of law and that they can be ignored. Yes, some members of the executive may seek to hide under this subterfuge to ensure that the National Assembly backs off exposing their misdeeds. But Nigerians are now wiser. When the members of the House of Representatives sat on a Sunday at the height of the fuel subsidy crisis in January and made far-reaching resolutions, they had the support of all right-thinking Nigerians and this support for the resolutions continued until the Otedola-Farouk bribery scandal which eventually divided and diminished that support. This is a challenge to the National Assebly: Put your budget monitoring reports with well-researched recommendations in the public domain. Give the executive a timeline to make amends and draw a line in the sand if they fail to do so. The National Assembly can be assured of the support of Nigerians if their findings and recommendations accord with the wishes and aspirations of the majority of Nigerians. The rallies, mass action, street protests and media pressure will be too much for the executive to bear and it will be left with no option but to implement these resolutions. But, the lawmakers must be extra careful, vigilant and be above board like Caesar’s wife because he who comes to equity must come with clean hands. Traps will be set but you must not fall; you must lead by the force of your examples. Your constitutional powers will be strengthened by your moral leadership.
Finally, the lawmakers can consider a three to four year trends analysis of capital budget implementation so that the new course of action which they will chart will be well-grounded in theory and practice. History will be kind to them if they should hearken to the voice of the people and lighten the yoke of the masses through their contribution to the design of a new approach to capital budget implementation and oversight.
- by Eze Onyekpere (censoj@gmail.com)

Is Democracy working in nigeria

Is Democracy Working in Nigeria? – Muhammed Bello Mohammed @trueNija
‘Africa is the only continent that has moved backwards in the last 30
years’ – Tony Blair, 

I have sat down several times to ask myself this question but always
end up with the same answer. Before I go to that, let me talk of the
type of Democracy or Government we have been operating since 1999 in
Nigeria, the longest period we have had under a democratic setting as
it is called.

It’s sad to note here that despite the fact that Nigeria generated more
than enough revenue to not only drastically reduce poverty and
unemployment, but could have been the Dubai of Africa, raking in
revenue from tourism as well as a destination for investors. These have
been made untenable because of the bad leadership we have had from the
Federal to Local Government Areas who loot rather than serve the people
they asked to serve.

On electricity alone, the Nigerian government claimed to have spent
over $30billion which to me can provide the whole of West Africa with
light energy.  Yet what is evident in all parts of the nation,
including Government houses are generators and their associated noise
and air pollution. No one can say for sure how many Nigerians die each
day from carbon monoxide poisoning or fume-related asthma.

What does democracy mean in the first place and why is the United
States in particular, advocating democracy around the world? Democracy
is simply known to be the Government of the people, for the people and
by the people. Let’s explain this further and relate it to western
involvement.

Democratic practices have always been issues of serious concerns for
the average Nigerian citizen, while the nation’s glaringly weak
judicial system portends bad signals that the country is heading
towards crises, if drastic measure were not taken.

In Nigeria today, what we have is a selected few who destroy our dear
country in the name of Democracy. “Democracy is not supposed to be
imported and imposed hook, line and sinker on different nations with
different backgrounds, orientations and cultures. Tenets of democracy
are good, but must be tailored to fit into and accommodate diverse
backgrounds, cultures and orientations of diverse countries according
to the needs of such a people.

We must develop our ‘home grown’ democracy including the election and
its processes.” – @hbgumi. In my own opinion, democracy should be
tailored to suit the needs of the people but the basic principles,
people-centeredness must remain intact.  According to President Barack
Obama, “The people are more important than the president” From this
quote, we can see clearly that Democracy is all about the people and
those elected MUST initiate and execute policies that affect the people
in a positive way.

Citizen participation must also be encouraged. Is this happening in
Nigeria? Your guess is as good as mine. Nigerians are totally ignore
while those that asked to serve arrogantly refuse to consult their
their local constituencies.  Why then do we allow this to continue
since we have the right to decide who best to lead us?

This brings me back to where we have problem in Nigeria under a
Democratic setting. In the first place, since Democracy is all about
the Nigerian people, why then do Political parties impose candidates on
us to choose from? Why won’t the people decide who carries the flag of
a particular party, be it the office of the Governor, senate, Reps or
President? Why do we have too many association registered as political
parties in Nigeria? The National Assembly in Nigeria is nothing but a
waste. They have no use for Nigerians and our constitution is only in
name.

To answer the above, I have a suggestion. Firstly and to be sincere, we
do not need more than five (5) political parties in Nigeria. Secondly,
the people should be involved in selecting who a party presents as
candidate for all positions. Another issue that contributes to the party
selecting who they present is the issue of money politics. The
Independent National Electoral Commission INEC has to start with free
nomination forms as well as peg how much a candidate can spend during
campaign.

The exorbitant amount charged by party’s prospective contestants means
that if the best candidate was poor, he would be priced out of the
contest. Is this Democracy? Is this how the US and the West conduct
their nomination? Since we are copying the United States system of
Government, why do our elected/selected representatives, at the
detriment of our people, allocate to themselves unbelievable amount as
their allowances making a Nigerian senator to earn in a year more than
what the US president earns in 4 years? What then does the president
earn, that’s apart from what they loot?

Recently, former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Alfa Belgore (Rtd)
decried the ubiquitous present state  of infrastructural decay in all
parts of the country, adding that with the decay, the country was yet
to experience true democracy.

The people’s Democratic Party (PDP) has been RULING, not LEADING
Nigeria since 1999. They have done nothing but divide and rule us. Each
election gets worst yet we do nothing. WHY? In the 2011 elections, I
cannot remember now, how many seats were cancelled as a result of
electoral malpractices and re-election done?  Yet no single INEC
official has been charged for their role in rigging. On this, I’m not
surprised because INEC itself is a branch of PDP as clearly, Professor
Attahiru Jega is not an Independent electoral Chairman but a
representative of the ruling party who takes orders from President
Jonathan. We must call for parties to nominate candidates to serve in
INEC. Occupy Nigeria has shown us that once we are UNITED, the govt
will do what’s right.

What Nigerians should know is that those in Government are united in
looting. Being in different Political parties is only a deception.
Remember the bullet-proof jeep Shekarau gave President Jonathan when
they were campaigning for same office but under different parties. For
how long then, will we continue to be deceived?

I know part of the oath President Jonathan took was to protect lives
and properties but unfortunately, we have witnessed more deaths and
destruction of properties in less than two years of his Government. He
boldly spoke about fighting corruption which is our number one problem
but end up being the leader of looters with Diezani  Alison- Madueke
and Ngozi by his side.

A serious president fighting corruption would not have only sacked
Diezani Madueke and all involved in the fake N2.6trillion fuel subsidy
fraud but also make them face the law. As it is now, there is no single
sector that fraud has not permeated and crippled.  We have ICPC and
EFCC who are both also a branch of PDP. How then do we say democracy is
working?

Having said this, it’s obvious that Democracy is definitely not working
in Nigeria and the earlier we unite to #SaveNigeria in 2015, the
better. We are already far behind. Defeating a DO OR DIE party like PDP
is not an easy one. They use religion, region and tribe to divide us.
Since we know this, why not use our vote which happens to be our
strongest weapon in making Democracy work in Nigeria?

In conclusion, let me share this story that relates to our present
condition. Nigeria of today is much more like the story of the late
Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who, at 88, found himself
on a train and unable to find his ticket. When the conductor came
around, Holmes was searching through all his pockets without success.
Of course the conductor recognised the distinguish justice, so he said,
“don’t worry, Mr. Holmes. You don’t need a ticket. You’ll probably find
it when you get off the train, and I’m sure the Pennsylvania Railroad
will trust you to mail it back later! ” Holmes looked at the conductor
with some irritation and said: “MY DEAR MAN, THAT IS NOT THE PROBLEM AT
ALL. THE PROBLEM IS NOT WHERE MY TICKET IS. THE PROBLEM IS WHERE AM I
GOING?” Sadly, that’s the situation i find us in. We don’t know where
this bloody Democracy is taking us to.

May the Almighty Allah Save Nigeria.
REMEMBER, “DECISIONS OF TODAY ARE REALITIES OF TOMORROW” It’s up to us.

- Muhammed Bello Mohammed

Follow me on Twitter: @trueNija

Tolu ogunlesi: life ain't some jame bond shit

Tolu Ogunlesi: Life ain't some James Bond sh-t

Around midnight on Saturday 11 November (make that Sunday 12 November), I drove into a band of armed robbers somewhere in Lekki.

Before then I, Otunba of the Lagos Night, had never – not in my seven or so years in this city – run into armed robbers. I knew, in that instant, these ones were not ‘friends’. I’m used to running into my ‘friends’ at night in Lagos.
Nigerian policemen, evil as they are, don’t haul you out of your car – without first asking for identification and ‘papers’. They don’t bark insane orders menacingly at a lone male in his car, don’t surround a lone male with AK47s pointed at him, don’t collect his car keys, don’t strip him of his watch, don’t empty his pockets in seconds. Yes, they ask you to open your boot; will ask you what the suitcase in the boot contains. But Nigerian policemen don’t ask you to get into the boot. They don’t slam the boot shut. They don’t pile into your car and drive off with you in the boot.
I know Nigerian policemen can be crazy and all. We’ll talk about that another time.
I spent the next hour in the boot of my car, unsure of my fate, unsure if these were car-snatchers, or something worse.
From my ‘cockpit’ in the boot of my car I reckoned we were headed towards Epe.
To cut a short story even shorter, we eventually ended up somewhere.
Somewhere residential, from what I could tell.
The men – some spoke Yoruba, some pidgin – had one thing on their minds. Homes.
I thought that breed of robbers had long slid into extinction.
You all remember the Nigeria of the 1980s and 90s, when gangs of armed robbers invaded homes in search of – nah, there were no mobile phones or iPads back then – they sought VCRs and TV sets and cash (pre-ATM, no doubt) and jewellery.
Pardon my naivety, but I didn’t know they were back.
My final twenty or so minutes in the boot were – as we say in these parts – gangster.
All I could hear were orders. And loud thuds and thumpings on doors, as these young men fanned out into the homes of innocent Nigerians.
And then, later, panic. Yeah, the men panicked.
They kept shouting “Amo! Amo! Amo!” I thought one of them was called ‘Amo’. I thought they needed to leave, and were frantically seeking him.
It was (and I didn’t know this until later) an Armoured Personnel Carrier, belonging to the Nigerian Police Force, that they were referring to.
Apparently, in the belligerent algebra of police-and-tief, an APC is an equation-altering variable.
And then the gunfire started.
I was still in the boot, so I didn’t know who was shooting. Or at what?
All I could tell was this was like dress rehearsals for a Lagos Festival of Bulletry, powered by people whose problem was obviously (and apologies to the Boy Scout Dictator) ‘not bullets but how to spend them’.
In that moment Lagos became Mogadishu. Or Monrovia in the early 1990s. Or Abbottabad, on a May night in 2011. Or perhaps Lagos simply became Lagos. The same Lagos where families gathered to watch public executions as Sunday afternoon entertainment in the late 1970s.
Things happened quickly from there.
The men had to flee.
Expectedly they piled into my car (I was still in the boot).
Unexpectedly they’d somehow managed to lose my key.
Without hesitation they filed out of my car, shot their way into the night.
Minutes later, when the gunshots had died down, I heard softer voices.
I fiddled with the mechanisms in my car boot.
The boot popped open.
Two men attended to me.
“You look familiar,” said one. He was an estate resident. “I know your face. You’re a journalist.”
Thank God for Twitter (?).
The other man was an escaped abductee, like me. Kidnapped in Isolo, at 9pm, held until 1am. His car, like mine, served as an ‘operational’ vehicle.
In that moment we were all bound in the fellowship of our victimhood.
The guy who recognised me had had the butt of a gun rammed into his chest minutes earlier.
One by one the estate residents filed out. In no time there must have been thirty of us standing on the road that ran through the estate.
Bound in the fellowship of our sufferings.
Trying to outdo one another with our tales.
My victimhood is bigger than yours, and other stories 
We licked our wounds, swapped stories, stewed in our numbness, picked spent bullet shells as though we were harvesting grain.
At one house at the end of the road, two dogs lay bleeding, shot.
The police joined us, sober as we were.
You had to feel pity for them. Underarmed, under-protected.
I slept in the police station that night. In the morning before I was ‘released’ to go home I was shown a car, a white BMW, 3 series. Parked not far from where my car, towed from the estate, was deposited (the imbeciles had actually lost my keys, for real).
The Beemer had a single bullet hole, through the windscreen. And dried blood, on the front seats.
The driver hadn’t been as fortunate as the rest of us, the ever-expanding band of survivors.
Nineteen or so hours before my own escapade, he had run into a bullet. It stopped him, silenced him, forever.
They say he was young, he worked with an oil company.
He probably didn’t have any more reason to die than I did.
But the man died.
The divisional crime officer, a writer of poems and reader of Gandhi, had a bullet through his car as well, also from the night before. It must have whizzed past him. He survived.
A week later, my friend C would celebrate one year since his own survival. He lost his car (eventually recovered). The young man robbed alongside him, wasn’t so lucky. He was shot and killed on the spot.
The Fellowship of the Suffering.
I lost my laptop, my phones, my wallet. My car, at first, until it was abandoned, with me in the boot.
But I’m alive.
And you expect me to live in Lagos and not believe in the wondrous mercies of God.
Let the philosophers wonder about the city that leaves its citizens wholly dependent on the grace of God.
I know Fashola is trying. But let’s face it – Lagos was the city the Psalmist had in mind when he prayed about the “pestilence that stalks in darkness; the destruction that lays waste at noon.”
We live to die, to run away from a million deaths, to swap stories of unordinary fates and miraculous escapes.
I learnt a few things:
·         The Nigeria Police, useless as they are, are not that useless. Given how useless they could actually be. Trust me.
·         Life is not some James Bond sh-t. If it was, from my boot I’d have activated a secret console that’d have:
o        Turned my inner-lights into a night-vision camera that’d have taken photos of the bandits
o        Alerted the Head Offices of the SSS, EFCC, SARS, and NIA about my whereabouts, speed of travel of my car, and direction of travel
o        Sealed me into an air-conditioned, bullet-proof casing within the boot
o        Disabled the car, jammed the locks, and filled the cabin with methoxypropane, putting all the bandits to sleep.
·         The Honda Accord Boot is impressively spacious. And it – at least in certain models – can be opened from the inside.

A lie Detector! By Jude Egbas

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The Ovaarnong (Chief) of the Ofodua Kingdom steps onto the foreground; venue of his just concluded Media chat, to warm applause and backslapping from an army ofcourt jesters, praise-singers and ass-lickers in the Palace. It is 9pm, Ofodua time. Everyone here is in high spirits after an Ovaarnong spotting a screaming shade of ‘lip-gloss’ before the Cameras, appeared to have bettered his previous Media chat here — by his own standards.
Still beaming from ear to ear, the Ovaarnong pulls over one of the jesters, Dr Akpata, his most trusted of Media aides; into his office. Akpata is all but dancing now, reveling in the credit for prepping the Boss up before the Media chat….
Rate my performance today. I can’t wait. On a scale of One to Ten, just freaking rate my performance!
I will give you an Eight, Ovaarnong! Wow! I couldn’t stop smiling while you sat before the cameras. I particularly enjoyed the part where you took in a deep breath, looked at the Cameras and said: “We may have our challenges, but I want to assure the Ofodua people that the future is bright….”
Hahahaha. I knew you would like that.
Hold on a minute. Here was the pick of the bunch: “My administration doesn’t care about poverty reduction but wealth creation”. Economic professors will try so hard to untie that knot of a statement for years to come. You have given the ‘buffaloes’ some homework.
Hahahahaha. I told you and the rest of the team not to worry. I may have started quite nervy, but I think I picked up steam as the media chat wore on. You should know that facing the cameras is not really my strongest suit. I wish I did not have to do this. But the Ofodua people are forever demanding answers about this and that….and since this is a democracy….
It may get worse, Ovaarnong. The Parliament intends to make it mandatory for you to deliver an annual State of the Union Address. According to them, the bill is in keeping with democratic best practices globally.
Hmmm..wahala wa o! Anyway, this was exactly what we signed up for when I campaigned as a poster boy for all shoeless men around the kingdom, for this job.
Hmm. But I had some uncomfortable moments as I watched from behind the cameras tonight.
Okay…I am all ears.
Recall when you said: “Corruption is not our problem in Ofodua”? I almost ran out of the hall.
Okay. Next…..
You mentioned to the people of Ofodua that we were not going to dialogue with the Zobo-Mantra terrorists in the North. Three weeks before, you approved a Press Release which I signed, suggesting we will dialogue with Zobo-Mantra. We even went ahead to list a team of eminent Ofoduans as the ‘Kingdom’s Team’ for the talks. I am at a loss on how to put a spin on this in the next few days.
I don’t envy you. The Journalists did not help matters too. Next time, I want to see the questions beforehand, way before the ‘make-up’ sessions. I wasn’t quite prepared for some of the questions, to be honest, so I resorted to politically correct answers. Rather than bother with the ‘make up’ crew who only had so much ‘lip-gloss’ to show for all their efforts, coerce the Media men to give you the questions they came with, beforehand. The gentleman from your former Media house was most prying with his questions. Some of his probing almost made my heart sink. And he kept referring to himself as a Political Reporter. Who cares, anyway? Mtscheeewww.
Hmm. Again, you told the Kingdom that the Maniroba’s contract had not been cancelled. This flew in the face of a Press Conference I addressed where we…..
Akpata, grab a chair. Calm down. This is your job, and I am sure you will know how to handle the Media when we leave here. You want a drink?
Thank you Ovaarnong. I am on a dry fast. What of Madam’s ill health? The official lines, approved by you, were that she had flown to ‘Obodo-Oyinbo’ to REST. Just to REST. Everywhere I went, I told them Madam was resting after a hectic Palace schedule. Her own media aides maintained that line even while they were asleep. Tonight, you told the whole world Madam was actually ill and was flown to ‘Obodo-Oyinbo’ on medical grounds and is recuperating……
Akpata! Akpata!! Akpata!!! Akpata!!!!
My Lordship, the Ovaarnong!
How many times have I called you?
Four times, Ovaarnong.
Good. You have given me four instances where I let you down tonight. I would rather we look on the bright side. My performances have improved since the night when I screamed from the rooftops the words: “I don’t give a damn!” Be merry, Akpata. Just take a deep breath and be merry. Life is too short to worry about some half-truths. That will be all for now. Goodnight, Dr Akpata…..
Sorry, your Lordship….I wish this was so easy to fend off…..
Okay let me help you with a few tips. As regards Madam’s ill health, a person who is ill is technically RESTING. Deal with the rest. Regarding the ‘Zobo-Mantra’ dialogue, you could say, I did say we were not negotiating with terrorists because we do not want to show our hand….buahaaahahaaa. Or you could say, “Look, guys, no Kingdom all over the world discloses its covert intelligence operations to the world. That was what my Ovaarnong implied when he said…blah…blah..blah.”
Hahahahaha. Good one. I like…I like…..
Why won’t you ‘like’. See ya mouth! So, are you okay now? The night is far spent and your wife may be wondering…..
Ovaarnong, you also told the People of Ofodua that we generate5,000 Megawatts of Electricity into the National Grid. Do you know what happened when you said that?
No, you can fill me in. That’s what I effing pay you for.
My ‘mentions’ on Twitter hit the roof. The ‘Children and grandfathers of anger’ were tweeting at me saying they were watching the Palace Media chat with varying sizes of Generator sets. I was called names as usual. They were hurling insults at my person and casting aspersions on “O’mockery” who was also tweeting live excerpts from your media chat.
Ibinokpabi! Osanobua!! Chineke God of Arts and Science!!! Yeparipa!!!! Yey!!!!!
Yes, it was a bit difficult to deal with. ‘Yeparipa’ is right.
Okay, I didn’t even confer with the Department of Power O! I don’t know how ‘5,000 Mega watts’ found their way onto my lips. But I wanted to sound upbeat….5,000 Mw was a figure tinged with Faith and Optimism. And without Optimism, why are you an Ovaarnong? That is how you will explain away that part to the Media. But what is the power situation on the ground? Where you live for instance, do you often have public power supply?
I think, Kingdom wide, levels of power supply have dropped significantly.
‘Significantly’…..buahahaha. That was the same word I used before the journalists. ‘Significantly’ my foot! Dr Akpata, lemme hand O! One day when you become an Ovaarnong, you will understand how difficult speaking to the people is. You have to ‘sugar-coat’ a few things.
I am still battling with the ‘notorious lie’ which slipped into your Independence Day address regarding our Kingdom’s anti-corruption ratings. At this rate, we may have to prep for Live Media Chats or Press Conferences in the Palace with a Lie Detector, henceforth.
Lie gini?
Detector biko, Ovaarnong.
How does that work?
It is a machine which can give off signals situating the levels of truth or untruth in a statement one just made.
Brilliant! Make provisions for one if that makes you happy. Or do you want me to set up a ‘come-eat-tee’ to get us one? We can source for funds for Mr. Lie Detector from outside the budget, abi?
Hahaahahaaaaaa…Goodnight Ovaarnong.
Goodnight, Dr.
The writer is on Twitter as @egba

Why Do We Fall In Love So Easily,Even When It’s Not Right ? #opesays

Haa ! I’m back to my favourite topic, love. I hope you had a lovely week. Ever wondered why most of us fall in love so easily,even when we know it’s not right ? It has caused us much pain and heartbreak than most of us can say. You know deep within you that this person is not right or it’s not the right time to have a relationship, yet you go ahead and let yourself fall completely. Don’t blame yourself, most of us are plagued by this syndrome. There are several reasons why we fall in love ,even when it’s not right.

Ever wondered why most of us

fall in love so easily,even when

we know it’s not right ?

The most common is the triumph of emotions over logic. We all know that the emotions are strong,primitive urges that we can hardly control. You think it’s better to never ask why and spoil what you’re feeling with logical reasoning. It’s funny how the heart can be deceiving and you create picture of what doesn’t even exist in your head.Then it all comes crashing down like a pack of cards. It’s easier to go with the flow ,than question it and go against the grain. Most times the other person isn’t even what you want in a partner but you make excuses for them and go on anyway. This is why we end up getting hurt.
Loneliness is one of the most common reasons people fall in love. You will your heart to fall in love and manufacture an emotion that is not there. You see happy couples and you long for the same. Well, the easiest thing to do is to fall for the next person that comes along. You turn a blind eye to the other person’s qualities and forge ahead. After all, you can’t continue to spend night after night cuddling your pillow.The human need for companionship is basic. You want a warm ,living ,breathing body to hold you and listen to you.
Pressure is another reason people fall in love. Pressure from their peers ,pressure from family and mild pressure from seeing people who are happily in love. Some of us have heard about this ‘love’ all our lives and we want to experience it for ourselves. Loving out of pity is another common one. Someone has been on your neck for months, years perhaps. The other person pressures you into ‘falling in love’. Thing with this kind of love is the that your heart actually finds a way to believe it’s real.
Nothing would have been wrong with these kinds of love if they didn’t leave us with a castoff version of love or nursing broken hearts. Until I discovered the true meaning of love, I used to think I had fallen in love before.Only to discover I have never been in love. It’s easy to confuse longing ,attraction,infatuation ,obsession and even lust with love. They are not the real think ,only fake versions of it. If so, then what is love ?

If it has to end,then it is not love

Love runs deeper that what we think.It is not a feeling, as feelings are temporary.Anger,happiness,excitement are all feelings ,as they are temporary. If it has to end,then it is not love. Love is a conscious decision to stay with this person ,no matter what. Note that I said decision and not feeling. Love is holding on ,when you have all the reasons to let go. A prime example is God’s love for man.

Love is holding on ,when you

have all the reasons to let go

That is love.
Opemipo Adebanjo
@opesays on Twitter

Politics, Elections: A Testament of Our Corruption – by Debo Adejugbe @deboadejugbe

“This man had something to hide, some shame in his past, and those with a past can always be bought.”? Ian Rankin.
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. – John Quincy Adams
- Washinghton Post. October 6, 2007:
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Oct. 5, 2007 — Onetime track superstarMarion Jones pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of lying to federal investigators and admitted in a packed U.S. District courtroom that she took steroids before the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, all but ensuring that she will be stripped of the five medals she won there.
- Associated Press. August 20, 2012:
HEFEI, China (AP) — (Gu Kailai) The wife of a disgraced Chinese politician (Bo Xilai) received a suspended death sentence Monday for the murder of a British businessman, as authorities move to tidy up a huge political scandal ahead of a once-in-a-decade leadership transition this fall………. State media say Guy-53, confessed to intentional homicide at a one- day trial held in this eastern China city on August 9th.
- Huffington Post. October 25, 2012:
It is the end of an era for Lance Armstrong. Unfortunately, according to the International Cycling Union and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, that era was based on one giant lie.
Given the amount of evidence, including the reportedly 11 former teammates who have testified against him, it would only be sensible for Armstrong to admit his guilt. Instead, the 41-year-old continues to maintain his innocence, almost laughably, for fans of cycling and onetime admirers of his brand.
- Wikipedia:
On January 28, 2009. llinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was charged with conspiracy to commit mail, wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. He was impeached and removed from office by 59-0 votes of the Illinois Senate. On August 17, 2010, he was convicted on just one of 24 federal charges. In a retrial in 2011, he was found guilty on 17 other counts and sentenced to 14 years in prison.
Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith Resigned from the Senate effective August 25, 2009 after confessing to two counts of obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to 1 year and a day of prison and was fined $50,000.
Here is a list of American state and local politicians who were convicted of crimes. Try to check it out.  en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_state_and_local_politicians_convicted_of_crimes
*************
What’s with all these jargons I copied out from different websites ? How does it affect your lives or your daily activities? Do you even have to care about the several cases, irrespective of my point for bringing them out?
Well, the answer depends on who is asking.
These newspaper cuttings-if I may call it that-shows us a trend. A trend of powerful personalities-Governors, Senators, Unmoveable Politicians, extremely popular sports personalities etc-owning up to their crimes or being caught with their hand in the cookie jar, tried in the process and getting the deserved-or sometimes not-justice and punishment.
I heard that!
You are saying: “its not possible in Nigeria”; “Who will bell the cat?”; “Can we get someone extremely focused on the tenets of democracy to push for such reforms?……
Well, it starts with you! Yes, YOU!
How?
It’s as simple as this: “An Acceptable Electoral Process”. It’ll be a very long, hard bumpy road but it is achievable if we make plans ahead. Do we really scrutinize our candidates?
It was an interesting day on my timeline on twitter when Obama won his 2nd term as the 44th American President, but the significance of such momentous and historical moment, was lost on 99% – just an arbitrary figure to drive home my point-of those jumping up and down, congratulating Obama and spitting fire on those who dared questioning their motives and what they really gained.
But, there are simple answers to that, and I will try my best to talk through some of it here.
-Keenly Contested Primaries: We only have to look at the republican side of things here. Did our young adults, fighting each other on twitter-on who knows best-follow this election at inception or we just took it with the same pinch that Nigeria elections are taken. The Republican ticket was a keen contest, drawing several permutations and theories, on who will best fly its flag amongst Ron Paul, Michele Bachman, John Huntsman, Mitt Romney, Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Fred Karger etc with several debates organized to sample the candidates’ thought process and suitability for the job. Do we understand the importance of this at all?
Ondo comes to mind! The leaders of a certain political party vetoed their gubernatorial candidate, rubbishing the very essence on which democratic institutions are built – CHOICE.
-The Presidential debates: It gets really interesting here. Between October 3rd and 22nd, Three Presidential and one vice presidential, debates were held for the major candidates in the US. The purpose of debates in contests such as this is to sample the candidates’ composure and temperament under the spotlight, examine local and foreign policy focus-in truth, a debate hardly does justice to policies, as the time for answers are very short-and thrust etc. While most voters are already decided on what to do, they get a chance to see these candidates go to head-to-head.
Ronald Reagan’s “There you go again” retorts at Jimmy Carter’s accusations and insinuations in 1980 comes to mind – Reagan was the winner there.
If you are a keen US election follower, you will remember the image of a visibly enraged Al Gore shaking his head while G.W. Bush was speaking during their debate in 2000. Days after, owing to several dedicated air plays and analysis of that incident, people started seeing Gore as an irritated and annoyed fellow. You all know the result of that controversial election.
I still remember a certain “shoeless man” who debated himself not long ago, that’s the Nigerian way though, where a sitting president dreads debates against his opponents, passing up on the opportunityto defend his presidency and give a proper first person account of his stewardship.
-The Electoral Process itself: Do you actually know who heads the USA’s electoral body? How many times did his/her name pop up during the elections like Guobadia, Iwu and Jega are wont to do immediately they are appointed in Nigeria?
It was a question asked by Dupe Killa and echoed by Ogunyemi Bukola, when he said that he had to google it to have an idea. It shouldn’t be about the umpires but the integrity and transparency of the process.
-Concessions by losing candidates: I know this is very hard to understand when we fashion in our very rotten electroral process where ballot snatching and stuffing, progressive rigging- the one done in advance, politicians cross-carpeting just to win tickets / elections, post-election violence, a suppressed electorate and other forms of our unique brand of electoral lawlessness.
For close watchers of the brand of democracy the United States practices, it is an embedded part of the process because the election is mostly free, fair and generally accepted as representing the wishes of the people. The loser calls the winner and then makes a concession statement-mostly short, emotional with slight punches on the winner not to disappoint the populace-and then move on. Never doubt the fact that he is bitter after going through a gruelling campaign period and a close election, yet losing. Nevertheless he concedes the election for the good of the country.
The winner on his part, graciously, with a hint of fulfilment accepts the enormous work that has been thrusted upon him and makes a promise to be a president for all. Like Obama rightly pointed out, politics is a test of egos, in America. In Nigeria, its much more, you will factor in ego, unfettered access to the treasury, political might, the allure of power and the competition of who makes the most ridiculous-cum-senseless statements.
-Real People are Involved in the process: I’ll start with a quote from Akin Akintayo. He says: “What we learnt from the US elections is that, it takes people to carry plans to execution, ideas are not enough”.
I absolutely agree. There are several plans/ideas churned out by politicians, but they’re just ideas if you don’t have competent and driven people to execute them for you.
People are very important-the right ones!
I’m not talking about election riggers, ritual killers, thugs or political intimidators who breathe fire whenever things don’t go their way. I mean the people who can transform ideas into reality, those who can reach out to the grassroots and relay the candidate’s message effectively and work tirelessly in support of their beliefs.
-It was free of Disenfranchisement and Violence: While there were few misbehaving voting machines, that allows you to vote for all candidates except one, allocating your votes to candidates other than your choice-which was resolved by switching to paper ballots-the election was devoid of any flashpoint like we normally experience, even during councillorship elections in Nigeria.
I’m not in any way comparing our electoral maturity to that of the US, but it is important to ask those who kill others to curry electoral gains: “what exactly is the point?”
There were no inflamatory speeches from candidates, threatening to “kill or maim” if things don’t go their way. There have been four Presidential elections in US history where the candidate that won the popular vote ended up losing out on the presidency.

I’ll allow you to sink that in, reason it the “Nigerian way” and give your comments on it.
-Issue-based campaign: I can’t but help myself with a little dig at a certain “shoeless” fellow who felt the conditions of his childhood and not his competence should  be the determining factor in a presidential debate he had against himself.
You see, real issues were discussed and that was a major point in who eventually won the election. Obama provided real leadership by suspending his campaign train for 3 days during the “Hurricane Sandy” disaster, he didn’t just sit there waiting for someone to give him details to study before assessing the situation or shedding crocodile tears at the scene, forgetting about his promises thereafter – he was on ground.
The Economy, The congress, Gay marriage, Abortion and Contraception, Wealth of the candidates, Taxing of millionaires, Immigration, Foreign policy, Keystone pipeline, Online piracy, Endorsments etc were some of the issues that the election opened up.
Not how many shoes they had while growing up or the swagger of their torn or ironed elementary school uniforms. Not jamboree-like campaigns where they distribute top-up cards, kerosene, cash, umbrellas, brooms, raincoats etc.  You get my point?
-Candidates were well-scrutinized: This point brings me to the various quotes I listed out at the beginning of this article. You see, to be an accomplished and trusted politician, your life goes under the microscope to actually determine if you are not the “Voice-of-Jacob or Hand-of-Esau” type.
If you are clean as a person, questions may arise concerning your parents and siblings, family business or voting trend (if you’ve served in the congress-state or national). The several cases I listed out were just examples of people that fell from grace and thus went down with their reputations, and probably the reputation of some of their family members and the staff under their employ. It has far reaching effects on their family and everyone they’ve had dealings with prior to their fall.
They are now DAMAGED GOODS!
Picture the above scenario in Nigeria! Their corruption and obvious deficiency in fair play is exactly what qualifies them for “service”.
A governor and a senator were elected while they cooled their heels holed up in a prison somewhere, released with fanfare and took oath of offices under heavy security.
Indictment as a public official guarantees that you will dine at the president’s table. You will be feared and respected-if both can go together-in high places and courted by the high and mighty in the society.
To summarize, we love those with a checkered past in power. We rally round them, dance to their tunes, rig for them, spend part of their loot, help them embezzle more funds, worship them and see them as demi-gods while we envy what the Americans enjoy. We, just like our leaders are the problems we face.
The brand of Politics we play and the way we approach our electroral process is “A TESTAMENT OF OUR CORRUPTION”. The type that throws up 10 mediocre aspirants for one position, guaranteeing that an average winner emerges when the “best rigger” has triumphed.
I can’t ever imagine Nigeria having a 538 Electoral College body; it will translate to (in our usual way) knowing the next president years ahead, because they will be available to the best bidder.
As 2015 beckons, the question remains: Have we learnt our lessons?

I’m @deboadejugbe

Constitution Amendment, the Ruling Class and the Rest of Us – by Theophilus Ilevbare @tilevbare

Reports says certain proposals to the ongoing Constitution review, to redress the flaws inherent in the 1999 constitution handed down to the country by the military, was welcomed by overwhelming majority of Nigerians, civil society groups, professional bodies, regional socio-cultural groups and organisations have been resisted by some political office holders, their disposition and scepticism on critical issues militating against the growth , peace and stability of the country has become questionable, unpatriotic, anti-national, self-serving, short-changing the interest of the people they claim to represent. The roots of Nigeria’s myriad of problems can easily be traced to the flaws inherent in the 1999 constitution handed down to the country by the military.
Capital Punishment for Corrupt Leaders
The cancerous plague of the hydra-headed nature of sleaze that has brought the nation to its sorry state requires a more decisive and deft approach to solve the catalogue of unresolved scams. The Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) has vehemently resisted this proposal and they now canvass for punishment in line with international best practices. Making it seem like a good argument, we all know that such recommendation is covered in hypocrisy so the looting patrimony can continue. In Nigeria, it’s an open secret that justice is for the highest bidder, laws are dubiously bent to give protection to criminals. The same laws are susceptible to criminal manipulations by the corrupt. We can take a cue from some Asian countries where death by hanging is the penalty for looting and embezzlement of public funds, the effect of such measure on all indices of economic growth is crystal clear for everyone to see. It is however interesting to see their uneasiness at the thought of capital punishment for corruption. Introduction of such punitive laws in the constitution will serve the best interest of the Nation.
Removal of immunity clause

Another reason why the ruling class of Nigerian politicians is afraid of the constitutional amendment is the clamour by Nigerians for the immunity clause to be expunged. This ‘clause’, for many years, has opened the floodgates for incumbent political office holders to loot the treasury without blinking an eyelid and even enough time to sort for ways of cleaning up their mess just before leaving office. Of high priority also should be the redefinition of the scope of the immunity clause against the backdrop of the constitutional logjam which arose when the former Governor of Bayelsa state was arrested in Britain. While the British authorities insisted he had no immunity in Britain, some international constitutional lawyers maintained that his immunity extended beyond Nigeria’s jurisdiction.

Creation of State Police

State Police is the hallmark of true federalism; it is surprising that it has continued to generate so much debate. More alarming is the recent stance by the Northern Governors’ Forum to distance themselves from their counterparts in the south from canvassing for the introduction of state police even with the rising spate of insecurity occasioned by Boko Haram attacks. Nigeria is yet to join the rest countries in Africa and beyond who have long adopted state police and in some cases local police. Let’s face the truth and be honest with ourselves, If the creation of state police will address the security problems facing the country, why can’t we do that? To those who argue that the state governors will turn it to a witch hunting tool against perceive political enemies is the federal police as presently constituted any better? Can we all not remember the impasse involving Chris Ngige, a former governor of Anambra State, now a senator, who had a bitter experience in the hand of the police even as a serving governor, when he was kidnapped by the police on the prompting of his political opponents in High places?
In the U.S for instance, their constitution gives the Federal Government the power to deal with foreign affairs and inter-state affairs. For policing, this means if a non-federal crime is committed in a state, so long as the offender does not flee the state, the Federal Government has no jurisdiction. Once the fugitive crosses a state border, he or she violates the federal law of inter-state flight and is subject to federal jurisdiction, at which time federal law enforcement agencies may then be called upon. The result for the American society is there for all to see that such a robust working relationship between the federal and state police should now be articulated in the constitution amendment
The Southern Governors opined that since in terms of equipment and allowances which make up to 70 per cent of police activities in their respective state are funded by them so as to motivate and boost the morale of officers and men in their states it would be logical too to have a force that will take orders from state Governors and respond more promptly to security challenges.
Gov. Amaechi queried that while a country like Kenya has decentralized down to local government police and other countries in African and around the world have long embraced this effective style of policing, critics in Nigeria continue to raise unfounded argument against it
He continued “The constitution should allow states that have the capacity to build their own police to have it and those that lack the capacity to have state police to continue to rely on the federal police.
“If I have state police in my state, it is because I want to pursue particular offences. The federal police should also be there to ensure that I don’t cross the boundary.
“In fact, if I were the Federal Government, I would either reduce the number of policemen I have, where there are state police, and give it to where there are no state police or focus more on states with a high crime rate.”
It is my opinion that insecurity of lives and properties will be greatly reduced if state police is created. The present set-up is an anomaly, where the Governors are the chief executive of their states without commanding control on the police within their jurisdiction.
The ongoing review of the 1999 constitution should be disassociated from issues such as state creation, tenure elongation for political office holders, constitutional role for monarchs, rotation or zoning of elective positions and political power tussle about who gets what, when and why.
The Federal government, amusingly has become big business, a passport to loot and acquire instant wealth it has become, people are preoccupied in the jostle and desperation for juicy political appointments at the centre instead of contributing their own quota to national growth from the units. In contrast the world over, countries operating federalism grant legal rights to federating units to have ownership of their affairs, resources and culture. True federalism recognizes that units are different, religion and cultures are different and manpower is unevenly spread; so are resources and means of development amongst the federating units. It also seek to bridge the unevenness in society not by assuming that all federating units must be at par but by throwing a challenge to each federating unit to develop at its pace using fiscal instrument such as taxes collected from the richer unit to mitigate, assist, and support such weaker units. Nigeria is operating a federal principle which is rather close to unitarism. Federalism ensures that powers be devolved and not centralized. Governance at the central level must be made less attractive as it has created huge problems for the units. The feeling that pecuniary interest is the raison d’être for federal jobs must also be de-emphasized. This can be achieved by shifting attention of governance and economic production to the federating units, thus making the units stronger where economic and political powers can be exercised particularly as it concerns the day to day lives of the citizens as obtained in advanced democracies.

Theophilus Ilevbare